As part of the roundtables organized by CataloniaBio & HealthTech within the Girona Talent programme, a Hospital Connection has been launched to identify the unsolved clinical needs of ICS Girona and the Institut d'Assistència Sanitària. The format is an initiative of the internal innovation committee and has already "stopped by" at the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona this year. This new event was held on Wednesday, June 12th, at La Farinera Teixidor with clinical professionals from the main healthcare centres in Girona. 

The life sciences and health ecosystem in Catalonia has an important cluster in the Girona region, with growing representation among the members of CataloniaBio & HealthTech. To highlight this fact and give it visibility, CataloniaBio & HealthTech has collaborated with the drivers of Girona Talent to organise a conference to discuss, with experts and members of the entire value chain, the opportunities and challenges of the health ecosystem in Girona, as part of the events of the week. In this context, a Hospital Connection has also been launched to explore the unmet clinical needs of the ICS Girona and the Institut d'Assistència Sanitària. The sessions were held on Wednesday, 12 June, at La Farinera Teixidor. 

This 2024, two CEO Council meetings have been held and the date for the next one is already set for July 4th, with Vanessa Servera (Institut Català de Finances) as the special guest. What makes these sessions special? They are small group talks held in practe, where CEOs and members of startup and CataloniaBio & HealthTech company boards can participate and engage directly with the guest speakers, a high-level expert, whether business leaders or political decision-makers, with whom they can share experiences and strategic perspectives for their companies and the sector. 

The European Hematology Association has awarded one of its renowned "Bilateral Collaborative Grants" to the collaborative project of Dr. Biola M. Javierre, from the Josep Carreras Institute, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, and Dr. Björn Chapuy, from Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany).

The Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona and the Amancio Ortega Foundation have signed a collaboration agreement to promote research into rare diseases. The signing took place at the hospital itself, in the presence of the president of the foundation, Flora Pérez Marcote, and the managing director of the Hospital, Manel del Castillo.

Mediktor, member of CataloniaBio & Healthtech, announced the acquisition of Sensely, digital healthcare provider that pioneered an empathy-driven conversation platform to support hospital systems and insurance services with world-class member engagement. This consolidation of two world-leading artificial intelligence-driven solutions providers marks a major medical technology milestone, extending Mediktor’s global presence to more than 35 countries and expanding its footprint in the United States. 

Vitalera, formerly HumanITcare, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, is taking a qualitative leap by adding new allies that will contribute to scaling and projecting its digital solutions, with the United States as its focus. 

Onalabs, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, announced the pre-commercial launch of the ONASPORT device, in collaboration with the Barça Innovation Hub (BIHUB), responsible for fostering and promoting innovation in the field of sports.  

Vytrus Biotech, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has closed a 2.3 million euros capital round, through a capital increase and the sale of shares, in which it has increased and renewed part of its shareholder base. 

At the headquarters of IRBLleida, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, the second edition of Agrohealth, the call for research projects in Agriculture, Food, Nutrition and Health of Agrotecnio and IRBLleida, has been presented. 

Theriva Biologics, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) to lead clinical candidate VCN-01 in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel to improve progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.  

CataloniaBio & HealthTech, powered by the Internal Digital Committee, organised a round table at the 2024 edition of the Health Revolution Congress, the digital health congress promoted by BHH that brings together global startups and stakeholders in Barcelona to explore the digital health solutions of the future. More than thirty people filled the room, a full house showing the interest on the sessions.

Abzu, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, announced the appointment of Victor Galindo, as its new Chief Executive Officer. Victor, a co-founder of Abzu and previously Abzu’s Chief Technology Officer, succeeds Casper Wilstrup, who has been steering the company since 2018. 

Cellab CDMO, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has been awarded a GMP certificate as manufacturer of advanced therapy products under the European Union (EU) standards. The AEMPS has been the entity in charge of certifying compliance with these standards. 

On 24 April we connected to the fourthsession of the ‘GO International’ series, a series of webinars organised byCataloniaBio & HealthTech where different international destinations areproposed to learn more about their health systems. Through contact with otherclusters, associations, companies or institutions, experts share details aboutentities of the ecosystem of that location, regulatory barriers or evenopportunities for entry and commercialisation in those markets, and offerconnection paths.

Dr. Manel Esteller, director of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has been selected as the top researcher in the field of genetics in Spain in the 2024 edition of the Research.com ranking of the best scientists, a leading academic platform for researchers. He has also obtained the 37th position among the 4,000 best scientists in the world studying genetics. 

LAINCO, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, commemorated its 90th anniversary since its founding in 1934. The celebration took place from April 29 to May 3 and included a series of outstanding events that brought together clients, distributors and staff in an unforgettable celebration. 

Dentaid, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, presents an informative document on-gum health to dispel false myths. It has presented an informative document on gum health on World Gum Day, which was celebrated on May 12th.  

ACESABIO was officially constituted at the end of 2023, as an association that is positioned at all stages of the process. CataloniaBio & HealthTech is one of the 12 clusters that form part of this alliance, with a representation that allows it to understand the needs and challenges at each stage and in each territory, facilitating collaboration between actors. Moreover, by being a benchmark throughout the chain, it can drive innovation in a holistic way and promote synergies between the various actors.

The second edition of Connection Day, a working day that has already become a benchmark for the ecosystem, was attended by more than 560 participants, including 155 companies and institutions and 56 exhibiting companies, as well as 268 B2B meetings. "The main objective of this annual meeting is to create a space that facilitates the exchange of knowledge, gives visibility to both the opportunities and needs of companies and organisations and, in short, is a space where participants can explore synergies and establish points of collaboration," says Javier Selva, CEO of CataloniaBio & HealthTech.